In an interview with Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith, Fox News host Tucker Carlson says he never purposefully deceives his viewers.
Carlson went into detail that he tries his “very hardest” to be truthful but laments that when he’s riled on a topic, “I do tend to overstate.” Furthermore, the host continues by saying when he messes up, there’s a correction, and when his stance, he lets his audience know.
“When I screw it up, I correct it immediately if it’s a factual error. If my views on things change, I say that. I don’t pretend I didn’t used to think that. I admit it,” Carlson said.
“I mean, it’s hard for me to lie about it anyways because we have YouTube. But I, just as a matter of conscience, try to do that anyways.”
One of the reasons some might critcize the Fox News host is his ratings and the reach that he has to influence his viewers. However, Carlson says he ignores the ratings and doesn’t know what they are.
“I don’t know what my ratings are. I’m never thinking about ratings,” Carlson said. “I don’t know how to read a ratings chart. Ask anyone who works for me or has worked with me. I never look at the ratings. I’m not on the ratings email. I’m not even on email.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
